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Society

By December 2017, Turkey's population reached 79,814,871 of which 92,10 per cent live in urban areas. The population which lives in cities and counties have become 92,3 per cent. According to 2015 data from Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK), the rate of illiteracy was 3,8 % (approximately 3 million people), varying significantly between 1,29 % for men and 6,28 % for women.

1,325,783 babies were born in Turkey in 2015 - a 19,503 decrease from the year before. Fertility rate fell from 2,38 in 2001 to 2,18 in 2014 and 2,14 in 2015 (TÜİK, April 2016).

In October 2016, unemployment rate was 11,8 per cent; unemployment among youth (15-24) was 21,2 per cent (TÜİK, January 2017).

While Turkish is the only official language, a total of 36 languages are spoken in the country. Rising request for education in the mother language is still a current topic, especially among Kurds. In the 12-year mandatory education system that was started in 2012-2013 academic year, students were offered selective courses focused on the Qoran, Life of Mohammad the Prophet, Fundamentals of Religion, reading Skills, Writing and Writing Skills, Living Languages and Dialects, Communication and Presentation Skills, Foreign Languages. These classes have a requirement of at least 10 applications. The influence of the school management on the selection of these classes is also an issue of discussion. Living languages courses include Abkhazian, Circassian, Kurdish and Zazaki. There is not enough information regarding the course of implementation so far. According to a statement from the Ministry of Education, as of February 2016, 59 lecturers were appointed for Kurdish and Zazaki classes. An overwhelming majority is accepted as Sunni Muslim while violations of the right to diverse faiths, including the Alevi faith, and the right to impeity continue.